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Thursday, 29 September 2016

One
Half from the East by Nadia Hashimi
(HarperCollins) PBK RRP $16.99

ISBN 9780062421906

Reviewed
by Sharon McGuinness

Nadia
Hashimi’s first novel for young readers is an emotional and moving coming
–of-age story set in Afghanistan against the backdrop of war, its effects and
gender inequality.

Obayda is
ten years old and has already witnessed the horror of war – her father lost his
leg in a bomb blast and refuses to leave his bed. The family, Obayda, her
parents and sisters have moved from Kabul to a village closer to family for
support while her father recovers – yet his recovery is slow. Hampered by the
loss of his job, he has become depressed, depending on extended family for
accommodation and food.

Obayda’s
aunt has an idea which is believed to change the family’s luck – change Obayda
into a bacha posh – a girl pretending
to be a boy. A longstanding tradition in Afghanistan, the belief that by
bringing a boy into the home, the family’s luck will change – perhaps Obayda’s
father’s depression will lift, maybe her mother will become pregnant with a
son. Only when the bacha posh reaches puberty do they resume life as a girl.

The
village in which the family lives is a different world to Kabul – girls cannot
work and the village is run by a warlord Abdul Kaliq.

Obayda
struggles as Obayd – wearing pants, her hair cut short – yet it is liberating,
too. Freed from chores, and given more meat to eat, s/he is also encouraged to
play and explore. At school, Obayd joins the boys’ class and must participate
in more physical games at lunchtime.

Luckily
for Obayd, he is befriended by one of the toughest boys – Rahim, who reveals
himself as a bacha posh as well. Together a firm friendship is formed and Obayd
begins to adapt to his new life.

Time
passes and as Rahim approaches puberty his mother indicates to him that it will
be time to change again to a girl. Rahim, though wants nothing of it: ‘I only
want to be what I am now.’

Rahim has
an idea – based on a legend which told of the power of walking under a rainbow
– girls are changed to boys and vice versa. Convinced of its truth and with the
help of Obayd, Rahim is determined to locate a rainbow. Both girls attempt a long walk to a
waterfall, where a rainbow is often to be seen, but their attempt fails and
Obayd is in trouble for arriving home in darkness. At school, soon afterward,
Rahim does not appear and Obayd begins to wonder what has happened – particularly
after hearing that Rahim’s father is mixed up with the warlord.

Obayd’s
position as a bacha posh is changed when her mother becomes pregnant: now
perhaps her father may also improve.

Yet bad
news reaches Obayda that Rahim has been changed back to a girl – Rahima – who
has also been married off to the warlord at 13 years of age.

While
things improve for Obayda’s family – her father using a crutch that Obayd and
Rahim had made some months prior, there is no news of Rahima. School resumes
and Obayda returns to her class of girls and begins to form new friendships,
just as her mother gives birth to a baby boy.

Perhaps being a bacha posh
created some luck after all. We see Obayda’s father recognise her strength and
ingenuity, which perhaps being a bocha posh has given her.

The book
ends on a positive note – for Obayd and her family -- yet leaves the reader
with the unresolved story of Rahima. What is her life like as a 13-year-old
wife? How will she cope when she was clearly identifying as a boy? While things
have improved for Obayda, the opposite is not so for Rahima.

Hashimi’s
first book, ‘The pearl that broke its shell’ is actually the prequel to ‘One
half from the east’, yet it is also an adult novel as it explores the life of
Rahimi after marriage.

‘One half
from the east’ explores the reality of gender inequality in Afghanistan – life
as a bocha posh may enable a girl to see her potential and raise her
confidence, but what happens when they are required to change again? This would
be a valuable book to share with upper primary students – both girls and boys.
It is a gripping story, charged with emotion and leaving its mark upon the
reader.